Chapter 578

“Wow!”

Rimmer curled his lips into a smile while looking at Sterin.

“It really hits me that I’m back home when you call me possessed by Satan, grandfather.”

He smiled broadly, saying that he felt like he’d returned to his childhood.

“Satan?”

Raon murmured the word Satan. He could understand that it didn’t mean anything good, but he couldn’t tell exactly what it meant.

“Do you not know about Satan?”

“I don’t.”

Raon looked behind him and saw that Dorian and Yua were also shaking their heads, showing that they didn’t know.

“Well, I guess the name would’ve been forgotten a long time ago among humans.”

Rimmer shook his hand, saying that it was understandable.

“Satan is one of the monarchs of Devildom. He is in charge of wrath, among the seven deadly sins.”

“Wr-wrath?”

“Yes. He was called Satan, which meant he was the adversary of God and the heavenly realm. It’s been a long time since his previous appearance, but he is often used to frighten the children because of how violent and impulsive he was. Like, ‘Satan will come to get you’, for example.”

He chuckled, saying that Sterin often mentioned that name.

“I-I see…”

Raon bit his trembling lip and turned his eyes towards Wrath.

‘Were you called Satan before?’

There was a time when humans called him that.

Wrath nodded his flabby chin, murmuring that there was a time like that.

‘Satan, the adversary of God and the heavenly realm…’

Wrath had been insulting the heavenly realm and God all the time, saying that he wanted to fight them. Judging from the madness he showed, he was indeed suited to being called the adversary of God.

But violent and impulsive?! The King of Essence has always been level-headed, reasonable, and beautiful!

His fist trembled as he rambled some nonsense.

‘Satan, out of all demon kings in existence…’

Raon gulped nervously and looked at Sterin, the protector of the elves.

He was thinking that Sterin might have noticed Wrath’s presence when he said ‘Satan’. That was why he’d started to feel nervous once again.

“Amazing.”

However, the first thing Sterin said was a compliment, despite his expectations.

“I’ve never seen a human like you before, who possesses mana with even higher purity than elves.”

His eyes glimmered faintly, showing that he was seriously impressed.

“What’s even more interesting is your soul level. I can sense a lofty level that can’t be reached in your current realm. It’s strange because it almost feels like someone else is intertwined with you.”

Sterin muttered as if he was bewitched by something while meeting Raon’s eyes.

“......”

Raon clenched his fist while listening to Sterin.

‘Is he capable of sensing Wrath’s existence because he is a high elf?’

Let alone the White Blood religious leader and the Holy Sword Alliance master, even Glenn hadn’t noticed Wrath’s existence.

Raon could guess that it wasn’t because of his realm but because he was a high elf that he could sense Wrath’s existence.

“I told you already!”

Erian swung his fist wildly.

“That human must’ve been chosen by the spirit king!”

“Spirit king. Are you saying that he was chosen by fire or water?”

“Yes. You must be able to sense it even better than me, protector. Look at the pure energy of fire and water dwelling in his energy center!”

He shouted, still certain about his thoughts. Raon wanted to beg him to just stay quiet.

“Hmm…”

Sterin nodded, stroking his chin like a habit.

“Whether it’s the spirit king or not, we should greet each other first. My name is Sterin, I’m the protector of Seipia.”

“I’m sorry, I should’ve introduced myself first.”

Raon placed his hand on his chest and politely lowered his head.

“My name is Raon Zieghart, the Light Wind vice division leader from Zieghart.”

“Hmm?”

Sterin widened his eyes while looking at Raon.

“Did you just say that you are Raon Zieghart?”

“Indeed.”

“The Dragon Slayer, Raon Zieghart. Yes. You deserve to have a name like that at least, with your power and soul level.”

He quietly exclaimed, saying that he could finally understand it.

“Awesome, isn’t he? I’ve raised him ever since he was a baby!”

Rimmer wrapped his arm around Raon’s neck with a grin on his face.

“…Awesome?”

Sterin furrowed his brow, showing that he couldn’t get used to Rimmer’s frivolous tone.

“Are you really Rimmer?”

“Come on, why are you doing this to me? I’m the grandson who you personally raised, grandfather!”

Rimmer put his hands around his waist, asking whether he should take off his pants.

“You don’t need to.”

Sterin watched Rimmer’s fluttering right sleeve for a while before he shook his head.

“I can’t get used to it because you’ve changed far too much.”

He sighed once again and looked at Raon.

“I believe there were some issues on your way here. Let me apologize in their stead. They must’ve been on their high alert because we are about to deal with an important matter.”

Sterin closed his eyes, saying that they were rude to the guests.

“It’s fine since no one was injured. But what would that important matter be…?”

Erian and Leiran had also mentioned that it was an important period, and the fact that he couldn’t see a single human in Seipia implied that they had a really important matter coming up soon.

“We are preparing for the purification ritual.”

“Purification ritual?”

“Just as the trees purify the atmosphere by absorbing polluted air, the world tree absorbs harmful energy from the world and purifies it.”

“Ah…”

Rimmer had talked about it before. Raon had thought he was exaggerating about it, but it was apparently true.

“But even for the world tree, it’s impossible to purify all of the evil energy all around the continent on its own. The high elves resonate with the world tree once every twenty years to eliminate the impurities, and that is called the elven purification ritual.”

Sterin briefly explained the purification ritual. It seemed to be a consideration towards Rimmer’s disciple.

“Ah! That’s true!”

Rimmer exclaimed and raised his left fist.

“It was time for the purification ritual! I can finally understand why that happened!”

He nodded, saying that he could understand why the guardians stopped his entry.

“......”

Sterin closed his mouth and glared fiercely at Rimmer.

“Who are you?”

“What?”

Rimmer blinked, wondering what he was talking about.

“There’s no way an elf from Seipia would forget about the purification ritual.”

Sterin unleashed his dangerously sharp will, thinking that Rimmer was possessed by something. It looked like he was about to cut him down if he gave a wrong answer.

“The first sword technique I learned from you was the Meteor Sword. I still remember how you taught me the foundations under the world tree. What are you even talking about?!”

Rimmer told Sterin about their shared memories one after the other while raising a finger each time.

“Then you really are…”

Sterin’s lips trembled as he stared at Rimmer. Raon had never expected an elf, and a high elf at that, to panic so hard.

“Grandfather, you know, your grandson became a small… no…”

Rimmer laughed awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.

“A huge degenerate.”

“......”

Sterin’s throat wavered violently.

‘Haa…’

He is seriously insane.

Raon and Wrath shook their heads at the same time.

* * *

“Ahem.”

Sterin closed his mouth and shook his head.

“I’m sorry. I was a bit surprised because he changed so much…”

“I understand.”

Raon shook his head. Anyone would be surprised if their polite grandson turned into that. He could perfectly understand him.

“So, did you come all the way here to guard Rimmer?”

“Yes. I followed just in case, and I was surprised to find out that there was such an important event like the purification ritual taking place.”

“It’s fine. It’s that idiot’s fault for forgetting about it.”

“Grandfather! How could you call your grandson an idiot?!”

“Shut up!”

Sterin had gotten used to him already in that short time period and started to treat Rimmer just like Glenn did.

“Ah! Now that I think about it!”

Rimmer nonchalantly walked up to Sterin.

“Why am I known as the thief of the divine relic?!”

He furrowed his brow, lifting the sword hanging around his waist in front of Sterin.

“That sword.”

Sterin narrowed his eyes and looked at the sword Rimmer was holding.

“I gave it to you because I wanted you to become the head of the guardians. Since you left Seipia soon after you received the sword, you are obviously treated as a thief.”

“Ugh…”

“I thought you’d come back soon, but you lived with the humans instead and even became a degenerate, as you described it. I’m going to meet the head of Zieghart at some point.”

Sterin touched the red bow hanging on the wall, saying that he would have to visit Zieghart after the purification ritual.

“That sounds fun.”

Rimmer licked his lips as if he’d forgotten that he was the source of the entire problem. He was seriously hopeless, although it was nothing new to Raon since he’d been thinking that ever since he was a trainee.

“Protector.”

Raon lowered his head, interfering in the conversation between Rimmer and Sterin.

“Our division leader came to return that sword.”

“Yes, I did.”

Rimmer confidently nodded and held out the sword to Sterin.

“Return it?”

“Yes. I figured I don’t deserve to use the divine relic of our tribe with an arm like this.”

He smiled faintly while looking at his empty right shoulder.

“How did you lose that arm?”

“......”

Rimmer didn’t respond right away but looked at Raon, Dorian, and Yua behind him one after the other with a faint blue glow in his eyes.

“I’ve entrusted it to the future.”

“Do you have any regrets about that decision?”

“I don’t.”

“I see…”

Sterin seemed to have guessed the circumstances and calmly nodded.

“You feel a bit more like the grandson in my memory.”

He called out to Erian, his tense lips turning into a thin smile.

“Erian.”

“Yes.”

“Cancel the bounty on Rimmer.”

“Understood.”

Erian looked at Rimmer for a moment, then nodded his head. There seemed to be something he wanted to say, but he just obeyed the protector’s order.

“Protector. What are you going to do with that human? He’s definitely going to become the spirit king’s contractor.”

He still hadn’t given up on claiming that Raon was going to be the spirit king’s contractor.

“A spirit king that hasn’t even been born yet choosing their contractor has never happened before.”

“But it’s also unprecedented for the fire and water spirit kings to be gone for such a long time.”

“Hmm…”

Sterin stroked his chin and stared at Raon’s eyes.

“Have you ever heard someone’s voice or felt some intense energy of nature by any chance?”

“Hmm…”

Raon licked his lips while meeting Sterin’s serious eyes.

‘I have, and it happens every day.’

The cotton candy demon king was right next to him, but he simply shook his head since he couldn’t tell him about him.

“I haven’t.”

“I see.”

“You heard him. There’s no way a human would become the contractor of the spirit king.”

Leiran firmly shook her head.

“I think so too. But it wouldn’t be a bad idea to test him out.”

“Protector?”

She widened her eyes in surprise.

“Since even I can’t summon a spirit king…”

Sterin raised his hand and a red cat emerged from his hand. Every part of its body, from its prickling ears to its wagging tail, was engulfed in orange flames.

‘This cat…’

It was small in size, but its energy was even more powerful than Erian’s highest-tier spirit. It seemed to be a highest-tier fire spirit.

Nya…Hiss!

The cat started to yawn, but it leaped back and trembled in fear as soon as it met Raon’s eyes.

It lowered its upper body to stay on guard, but it couldn’t stand it anymore and showed its belly. It was the submissive posture of feline animals.

“Hah?”

Leiran gasped while looking at the highest-tier fire spirit showing its white belly. Even her firm eyes started to tremble.

“I was right! There’s no way Lord Sterin’s spirit would act like that! He’s definitely the spirit king’s contractor!”

Erian pounded his chest, saying that he was right.

“A lofty existence that can’t be even looked at…”

Sterin unsummoned the terrified cat spirit and nodded.

“It’s not certain that it’s because of the spirit king, but one thing we know is that you are special.”

He nodded seriously, saying that he had to believe it to a certain extent.

This is so frustrating! It’s not the spirit king but a monarch of Devildom! You stupid shitty ears!

Wrath frantically shook his head, irritated by how he kept being compared to a spirit king.

“If you have really been chosen by the spirit king, then it greatly concerns our clan as well. Can we meet again after the purification ritual?”

“Yes, I don’t mind.”

“Treat them as the clan’s most honored guests.”

Sterin shook his head, announcing the best treatment for everyone, not just Raon.

“Understood!”

“…Yes.”

Erian gave a big nod, and Leiran murmured her response with a doubtful expression on her face.

“Don’t be like that. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing. He has something to learn from you, grandfather.”

Rimmer walked up to Sterin and shook his head.

“Learn from me?”

“Yes. I wanted my grandfather to show him the spiritual arrow.”

“Hmm…”

Sterin stroked his chin while looking at Raon.

“There’s no reason not to since he is your disciple. But not right now. The purification ritual takes priority.”

“Hmm? Isn’t Siyan supposed to be doing the purification ritual?”

Rimmer tilted his head while mentioning someone’s name.

“She isn’t ready yet.”

“What? But she’s already old enough…”

“It can’t be helped since she still hasn’t managed the resonance.”

Sterin shook his head with a slightly exhausted face.

“I would scold her if she didn’t make the effort, but she’s been practicing every day yet still fails. I can’t even say anything to her anymore.”

He shook his head, saying that it was regrettable.

“Th-then…”

“Yes. She shuts herself in the room even more and never comes out.”

“Whoa!”

Rimmer rubbed his forehead, his eyes showing his worry for the first time.

“Who is Siyan?”

Raon mentioned the name, and Rimmer turned his head with a furrowed brow.

“She is my sister. She is the one who made the Nadine bread that you like so much.”

“What does it mean that she’s never coming out?”

“She made the Nadine bread so that she never needed to come outside.”

So it’s her! Go there right now and beat her to death!

Wrath started to yell while swinging his round fist like an iron club.

“If she made the Nadine bread so she would never need to come outside, then…”

Raon pushed Wrath away as his lips parted speechlessly.

“Yes.”

Rimmer shook his head and sighed.

“She is a jobless shut-in.”

* * *

“When is the second volume coming out? It would be nice to have the part where he slays the dragon.”

Siyan exhaled in excitement after reading the last page of the book, The Biography of Raon Zieghart.

“He is so cool. How can he be so good at everything?”

She blushed while covering her face with the book.

‘It must be because of his talent. He has the best talent among the humans.’

Siyan put down the book with a bit more sorrow in her eyes.

“And I don’t have any talent…”

She pouted for a while before she came down from the bed.

“Haa…”

Siyan slowly took a breath and closed her eyes. Mana as pure as a lake that was never tainted by human touch started to flow in her breath.

Whir!

The blue mana rampaged sedately, advancing toward her upper energy center before suddenly getting cut off as if blocked by a dam.

“Uhh…”

Siyan bit her lip and opened her eyes.

‘I failed again…’

High elves had a few abilities that normal elves couldn’t have. The most important among them was the resonance, which consisted of merging themselves into nature.

Performing the resonance was necessary to be a full-fledged high elf, and it was a prerequisite to purifying the world tree. However, Siyan had still not managed it.

‘Why can’t I do it even though I’m a high elf, too?’

She’d heard that her grandfather and the other high elves could do it naturally from the moment of their births. However, she was still unable to communicate with the world even though she’d become an adult a long time ago.

She had been training tirelessly since childhood, attempting to replicate her grandfather's breathing, but the path remained closed to her.

The glares of the other elves gradually became intense, and she had stopped leaving her room dozens of years ago already.

“Why am I the only one who can’t do it?!”

Siyan raised her hands and shouted.

“I want to be praised by people and be the center of attention, too. Why am I the only one who is so bad?”

She slammed the ground, revealing her worldly desires, unbefitting of a high elf.

“I wonder if this ever happened to Raon Zieghart? I doubt it.”

Siyan watched her golden hair flowing down like sand and bit her lip.

“I didn’t end up as a high elf because I wanted to be…”

“Siyan! You’re inside, right?”

Just as her intense inferiority complex was being shown, a cheerful voice that felt refreshing to hear came from the door.

“R-Rimmer?”

The way he was talking was quite different from before, but it was clearly Rimmer’s voice.

“I knew you were here. I’m coming in!”

“W-wait! Don’t come in!”

“Why are you acting so distant between us? I’m coming in!”

“Aaah!”

Siyan climbed back to the bed and covered herself with the blanket.

Crack!

Rimmer destroyed the bar locking the door and entered the room.

“I-I told you to not come in! Get out!”

Siyan screamed, only her eyes showing from under the blanket.

“You’re so mean to your brother, especially after not seeing each other for so long.”

Rimmer licked his lips sadly.

“I-I’m sorry. It was just too sudden…”

Siyan raised her blue eyes slightly.

“Is that so? I can come inside now, right?”

“A-about that… Ah?”

She found a blond-haired human with wide eyes standing next to Rimmer, who was smiling.

Plop!

Siyan went deeper into the blanket like a mole and started to tremble.

“Wh-who is that human?!”

“He is my disciple. I brought him here because he took an interest in the bread you made.”

“Br-bread?”

“The Nadine bread.”

Rimmer grinned, saying that he was such a strange guy.

Raon took a step ahead and lowered his head.

“My name is Raon Zieghart.”

“Hicc!”

It was a short introduction, but she made a suffocating sound from under the blanket.

“R-Raon Zieghart? Really?”

Siyan furtively poked her head out. Her blonde hair flowed down the blanket like a living creature.

“The damn handsome?”

“Yes, the damn… Huh?”

Raon started to respond but could only blink his eyes.

‘What is she even saying? Why is she suddenly saying damn handsome now?’

His brain started to malfunction because it was completely unexpected that an elf would call him ‘damn handsome’.

Raon lowered his gaze while gasping and saw that his name was engraved on a thick book under the bed.

‘This is…’

He opened the book. ‘The Biography of Raon Zieghart’ was written on the first page, and the author’s name was written right below it, which was…

‘Encia Yonaan…’

Encia’s name was confidently engraved as the author, and the mark that she’d previously gotten his permission to use was underneath, showing that it was an authentic book that was made with Raon’s permission.

‘That woman…’

Raon closed her eyes tightly, the hands holding the book trembling in shock.

‘How far is she planning to go?!’

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